China has apprehended 18,000 suspects in over 14,000 criminal cases concerning intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement this year so far, according to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) on September 21.

The MPS stepped up its efforts against IPR violations in 2011, and has cleared a total of 127,000 cases. It has uncovered and destroyed more than 1,400 dens for manufacturing, marketing and distributing counterfeit products since 2013.

The MPS also briefed the public about 10 recent IPR cases.

In March, a workshop manufacturing fake and poor-quality sanitary napkins worth 36 million yuan ($5.86 million) with eight production lines was closed by the public security departments of China's Fujian, Sichuan, Zhejiang and Hunan provinces.

In May, a criminal network selling fake cosmetics online under international brand names including L'Oreal, Dior and Chanel was closed down in Jiangsu Province.

Police departments also acted against cross-border IPR violations with Interpol, the World Customs Organization and other countries' law enforcement offices.